Recently, many articles in popular magazines have addressed a growing trend: Americans are shirking away from their own accomplishments and accolades.  Some allege that because of recently depressed or down economy and many people feeling down on their luck, to boast of your accomplishments is seen as smug, smarmy, or worse, bragging.  More than ever, when given a compliment, people seek some way to modify it or to demote and lessen what they have done.  It’s possible that this is an effect of the economy or a weakening sense of confidence on the part of the American people, but some accomplishments are unbelievably hard won and should be treated as such.  For example, someone with a college degree, postgraduate diploma, or even a doctorate, should be excited and thrilled to display their achievements with a quiet sense of confident pride.  It’s not an issue of bragging or outshining the hard times of your fellow man; it’s about understanding that if hard times are ever to get better, it will be by putting faith and honor in hard work and steady accomplishments.  A diploma display is the perfect example of both this dilemma and its solution.

How many people do you know who have graduated college?  Take that number and then consider the number of friends, colleagues and associates whose diplomas you have actually laid eyes on.  People rely more on Facebook to read off their accomplishments than their diploma itself, which is a shame.  For so many people it becomes a discarded piece of paper, and to treat it as such is literally to devalue your hard work and efforts.  This is your education, something that not only changed the jobs that you are eligible for, but informed your character and your intellect.  It is a formative part of the person you have become, and you should not only be very proud of that, but you should give credit where it’s due and proudly display your college or university that led to such significant change within you.

Additionally, using a diploma display, be it a frame or something more elaborate, is a wonderfully understated way to draw attention to your accomplishments at work.  It is something that adds a certain level of seriousness to your office or cubicle and it lets your coworkers know you are serious about your future because you know and appreciate where you’ve come from; a person who can appreciate their past can better visualize and attain their future, and that future can lead to greater success with your company.

Beyond that, a diploma display is a tool of interaction.  It allows customers, clients and coworkers to get an instant handle on your education and your sense of personal pride in the work that you do, and moreover it’s a talking point.  Better than an interesting paperweight from a vacation in Italy, a diploma serves as a discussion topic for a whole four years of your life, whether it touches on the education, the college itself, the location, or the memories you had of your time there, it is something that brings people into conversation instead of excluding them from it.

Whether your intent is to draw people in, impress the people in your life, or merely remind yourself daily of the things you’ve accomplished, a diploma display is a respectful treatment of a document that speaks to who you are as a family member, coworker, employee, and boss.  Hiding your accomplishments only serves to diminish you, while proudly displaying them allows other people to do the same with their own accomplishments.